Level Up Leadership

I’ve recently launched a Level Up Leadership Development with Chris Bostock.

Check out our website to learn more about this year-long PD cohort for school leaders.

Click here today to schedule a call.


Our program overview is below:

Level Up Your Leadership 

What would be possible if every member of your leadership team was a truly well-rounded leader?

The Problem  

A great educator has great mindsets and spikes in a few leadership competencies so they are advanced to leadership →   

Despite their strengths, some fundamental pieces of their leadership toolkit are underdeveloped: they might struggle to respond to emails in a consistent and timely manner; they have challenges with technology; they miss deadlines; they struggle to relate to others in their new role;  they roll-out initiatives without engaging stakeholders, etc.  These new leaders struggle with some aspects of what people assume are “basic leadership competencies,” and a narrative begins to form in which their gaps overtake people’s perceptions of their strengths →

And while the leader is all in, far too often their effectiveness and the team’s trust in their leadership erodes over time as those undeveloped areas are exposed to students, families, and staff →    

Time and time again, we lose our highest-potential leaders… the cycle begins again →  

So why doesn’t this change? Why have we all seen this pattern play out time and time again?

Because it’s tough to prioritize the teaching of these foundational leadership skills because of capacity, or the assumption that “they should just know how to do this”  already. As a sector, we think of it as an individual failure or shortcoming

…But in reality, we have a systemic leadership development problem.

The bottom line: A school cannot exceed the quality of its leaders, and they can’t lead without a full complement of core skills. These are skills that can be taught but managers and network leaders are busy – they often struggle to provide development on these leadership prerequisites internally at the level and quality they would like.

Our Solution

We equip existing new leaders with the essential skills necessary to affect change. At LevelUp Leadership, we know the pitfalls and have created an intentional way to teach foundational skills so that leaders don’t step in the wrong direction. We seek to equip you with background knowledge and intellectual underpinnings (common language) and technical and practical skills that are immediately applicable to the work. Our curriculum and coaching focuses on helping leaders manage themselves, manage their school, and manage their team. We teach:

  • Adaptability
  • Self-Awareness
  • Personal Effectiveness
  • How to be a continuous learner
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Curriculum selection and instruction
  • Strategic and systems thinking
  • Data analysis (including Excel analysis)
  • Visionary Leadership
  • Team Management and Accountability
  • High-Quality Communication
  • Adult Coaching
  • Change Management

For each competency, leaders read seminal texts on the competencies, receive practical training on implementation, and complete a controlled assessment (such as doing a pivot table analysis) to receive credit and feedback. We provide monthly updates on performance to school or district leaders sponsoring participants.

Our certification is dependent on the successful completion of assessments, ensuring that our participants are equipped with the necessary skills to affect change.

How It Works

We offer a year-long PD experience in two equal phases: 

Phase 1: Fall SemesterPhase 2: Spring Semester
“Level Up”Focuses on building proficiency in core leadership competencies.Good to GreatRole-specific development with the support of a coach who is an expert in their particular role.
  • Summer Launch: A two-day in-person session on your campus designed to ensure your leader(s) have a strong foundation in leadership fundamentals so that they can “show up” as a leader on day 1 with your staff.
  • Regular PD Sessions: We provide 16, 90 min PD offerings over the course of the fall.
  • Weekly Coaching: weekly 30 min 1:1 coaching sessions.
  • Cohort Experience: Participants work within a cohort, building a network, collaborating with other leaders who have unique experiences, and learning from them to be better prepared.
  • Assessment and Support: Participants must successfully complete controlled assessments on each competency in the fall and one culminating project integrating those competencies in order to earn certification. Additional support is offered to support those who need additional support.
  • Feedback: Monthly reports to host school leader/district combined with access to assessment scores in Canvas. Feedback surveys periodically sent to evaluate and support program effectiveness.

Participant Profile

Our program is for school and network leaders of all levels – existing and new leaders – who want to “Level Up” their leadership toolkit with essential skills necessary to affect change. It is great for someone who is in a position to advance to a leadership position within your school or network or has been tapped as a “high-potential” individual.

If you are an assistant principal, principal, or other school leader who has been trained on “instructional leadership” but wants to become a more effective and well-rounded leader, you would be a great fit.

Requirements:

  • Participants must be deeply invested in their own professional learning and are committed to holding a sacred time each week without distractions or interruptions.
  • Participants must also have a strong sense of personal responsibility and will meet assignment deadlines.

Spaces are Limited

→ Click here today to schedule a call. → Check out our website.

  • Learn More: Sign up today to schedule a call to learn more about our program.